Second Queen
by Steph-Schell
Summary: A brief look into life after biting Zoe doesn't go as planned.


"Have I ever told you how much I love your hair?" Dracula asked. He let out a snort of laughter as his bed companion feebly tried to hit him. "I do. It's so…soft and thick. It's wonderful."

This time the snort came from Agatha. "Are you going to lie about all day complimenting my hair or are you going to get up?"

"Getting up doesn't seem as fun as staying here with you all day."

"Well I want to get up. And I can't if you don't."

Dracula placed a kiss on her temple. "All right. Stay here and I'll be right back."

"Stay here," Agatha snorted. "I can't go anywhere!" Which annoyed her greatly. But there was nothing to be done right now.

Soon Dracula was back at her bedside with her wheelchair all set up. "Do you want help?" he offered.

Agatha glared at him. "Do I look like a woman that needs help?"

"You look like a woman that can't get around with the aid of a wheelchair."

"Yes, and who's fault is that?"

He cocked his head with the hint of a smile. "One could argue it's down to both of us."

"You could argue any point straight into its grave and then several feet further down just to be sure you've won," she retorted, working herself into the wheelchair. "Take me to the window. I want to see the sun."

"So, demanding," he smile. "All right let's get you out there. Do you want to change first?"

"Who's going to see me? We're in the damn penthouse."

"You are ornery this morning, my love. Should I worry?"

"You should always be worried about me," she sighed as he pushed her to the French doors that led to the balcony. She opened the draped and then the door, closing her eyes as the sunlight fell upon her. "It's so warm," she murmured. "I love the sun."

Though he knew it could not hurt him, Dracula still stayed to the side. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Don't spoil my moment," Agatha frowned. "I'm enjoying the morning."

"I'm only thinking of your comfort. We're to have guests after all. I wouldn't want you to look weak when they arrive."

She wrinkled her nose. "Yes, I remember. But I also don't want to have blood staining my breath when I go to meet them. Some of us have standards."

"I am wounded that you think I have anything but the highest standards in every faction of my life."

"You're barely above a leech," she muttered. Finally, she heaved a sigh and opened her eyes once more. "Well, that's enough of that. Suppose I can't sit around in my pajamas all day. Help me get dressed. Something comfortable."

"Let's get you back to the bed then," he replied. He pushed her chair back to the bed and opened the closet. "What do you want to wear today?"

"I told you, something comfortable. Don't try to dress me up like some sort of doll. I won't have that."

"I would never dream of such a thing," he assured her. He assisted her in dressing in jeans and a simple tee shirt. He tried to drape a jacket around her shoulders, but she pushed him away.

"I'm not cold," she retorted.

"It's not about being cold."

"I'm not a fashion plate either." Agatha got herself back into her chair. "I won't spend all day in bedroom."

"And what would you like to do instead? The world awaits you my darling."

Agatha let out a deep sigh. "I don't know. Amuse me."

"As you wish."

Dracula pushed her out to the main room of their apartment and was about to get them both settled in front of the TV when a buzz came at the door. "Who is that?" Agatha frowned. "No one is supposed to be here this early."

Dracula looked as sheepish as he ever could. "I may have let you sleep in a little later than planned."

"You know I don't like it when you do that," she snapped. "I like routine, I like the expected. I can't stand being in bed all day and I don't like when you lie me." She pouted at him. "Tell me you're sorry."

"I'm sorry," he said dutifully.

"Good. Now go and open the door."

Dracula did as she asked and soon returned for her. "Don't look at me like that," he admonished. "We have company and you look like you've been sucking on a lemon."

"I'm still annoyed by you. But come, take me to where our guest is stashed away."

"As my darling commands," he agreed.

Agatha's face did brighten when Dracula rolled her into sitting room where Jack was waiting. "Jack," she greeted happily. "I've been missing you. You look well! Come sit with me."

"What's going on, Dr. Helsing, I don't understand," Jack said. His eyes flickered between his mentor and the vampire standing behind her chair.

"Hm? Oh, don't worry about him. He's harmless. Consider him a dog with a muzzle. Nothing to be afraid of."

"I understand you wanting to make Dr. Seward feel safe, but you are being a bit insulting."

"Only a bit?" Agatha asked, looking up at him. "That's a shame. I was going for very insulting."

"You'll have to try harder next time."

"I'll remember that for next time then. Now off with you. You're scaring the boy. He won't talk to me while you're lurking around." She made a shooing motion. "Surely you can entertain yourself while we talk."

"As a matter of fact, I need to speak to my lawyer which means I should be going," Dracula told her.

"Don't forget your phone," Agatha ordered. "It's not like I can move around on my own after all."

"You know we could solve this problem by having him come here," Dracula pointed out.

"I will not have that man in my house. I've told you that." Agatha looked at Jack. "I don't like him. He's twitchy and jumpy. It makes me nervous."

"Oh Aggie, don't be like that, he's terribly helpful," Dracula pointed out.

"I don't like that name either," Agatha told Jack. "He calls me that when he wants to get under my skin."

"I'm already very much under your skin," he smiled.

"I want to speak to Jack alone. Let me have that at least."

Dracula dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll have my phone nearby," he promised. He was gone before either of them could comment on it.

"He's always so damn dramatic," she sighed. "I don't' know what to do with him some days."

"Dr. Helsing, I'm very confused," Jack said. "We all thought you were dead. And your accent, it's different. You don't sound like yourself. And he called you Aggie. But your name is Zoe."

"I'm still a little bit Zoe. Mostly Agatha. Zoe received a swift and peaceful death, but her memories and mannerisms still linger here and there. You may call me Zoe or Agatha. Whichever you wish."

"Why aren't you dead?"

Agatha's bright demeanor dropped. "I was," she admitted. "Dracula drank from me to make it painless. And he should have died as well. But he managed to carry both of us to his bed."

"What was so important about his bed?" Jack asked.

"The bottom layer is Transylvanian soil. Turns out if you believe a legend hard enough it can come true. Think of it as the placebo effect."

"Doesn't explain you."

"No, it doesn't. I should have withered away to nothing. Instead, I started as a comatose patient. Much like Lucy, my mind was still awake, but my body was immobile. Ever so slowly I began to heal. Starting from the top and working its way down. I was unable to move anything but my eyes at first. Then my head. And now I'm in this wheelchair. Given previous evidence, I will likely be able to start walking again in a month or two." She smiled slightly. "Dracula won't get me a motorized chair for that very reason. Says there's no point I'm practically on my feet again anyway. Between you, me, and the walls, I think he likes feeling useful by pushing me around."

"Your recovery sounds miraculous," Jack noted. "Unless of course, you're feeding on human blood."

"In a matter of speaking," Agatha hedged.

"You're not a vampire?"

"I am in the sense that I feed on blood. But I don't go out and hunt for humans."

"So how do you feed?"

"Off him," she replied with a shrug.

Jack frowned for a moment then his eyes lit up with understanding. And finally disgust. "Him, you mean Dracula?"

"It's the only substance I can bear. Normal food does me no good. He brought me a blood bag to feed off that but even then, my body rejected it. I would have remained nothing but a vegetable until he fed me his blood. A last-ditch effort, I suppose."

"You know he feeds on people," Jack pointed out.

"Yes, but it's all very ethical now. He gets their consent and everything. Turns out there's a lot of people willing to be food for a vampire. And not all of them are gothic teenagers who don't understand what's going on."

"How do you know that? That he's not hurting people."

"Because blood is lives. When I feed off him, I learn how his victims died. I would know if he was hurting people."

"So, you're the parasite's parasite basically."

"Well that's a crude way of putting it but apt at the same time." She watched the emotions fly through his face and fiddled with her blanket. "I understand if this upsets you. If t's not something you're able to accept. But I thought you deserved to know. And I wanted to be the one to tell you."

"This is…the foundation will want to know."

"I can't stop you from telling them," Agatha nodded. "I don't' want you to but I can't stop you. We both know what will happen if they come after us here."

"You'll both be taken into custody."

"Into containment," Agatha corrected. "To be separated and studied and never see the light of day again. I don't want that."

"You were willing to do that to Dracula."

"Things were different then."

"Would you kill people to stop that happening?" Jack demanded.

"No," Agatha returned sharply. "But we will leave this land if we are being threatened. There are so many places left to explore in this world. For both of us."

"You're asking me to conceal the existence of vampires from the people determined to wipe them out," Jack replied.

"I'm not asking anything of you," Agatha told him. "I'm simply telling you what's going on. What you choose to do with that information is entirely up to you. No one else can make that choice."

"He killed Lucy."

"I know."

"He killed you."

"I know."

Jack shook his head several times. "I can't…I can't…I have to go. This is just…it's too much."

Agatha nodded. "Of course. I'd show you out but," she gestured feebly to her useless legs. Jack said nothing as he lurched to his feet and practically fled the room.

When Dracula returned, he found Agatha in the same spot he had left her. "Darling, where's Jack?" he asked.

"He left," she replied.

"When?"

"Several hours ago. I'm not sure how long. I didn't look at the time."

"Something about your voice tells me he didn't take your reveal very well."

"He might tell people about us. I'm not sure. He wasn't' sure when he left either."

"Why didn't you call me? I would have come to help you."

Agatha shrugged, still not looking at him. "I didn't' think of it. More concerned about what would happen when Jack told everyone at the Institute about us."

"I told you, I have other properties. And now that you've given me the sun back, it takes us no time at all to move about between them."

"No time for you," Agatha retorted. "Did you notice my very useless legs?"

"Not to worry my sun," Dracula assured her. "Tomorrow we'll find you that motorized wheelchair you've been wanting so badly. I'll have it delivered straight away."

That seemed to snap her out of her lethargy. "I don't want baubles!" she snapped. "Stop treating me like some sort of toy! I'm not some shallow child who can be bought with pretty things!"

"Agatha, Agatha, please," Dracula soothed. "That is not why I suggested it. I promise, I don't think that of you."

"Then why?"

"Because sometimes…very rarely but sometimes, when I buy you things…you smile at me." He lifted her face to his. "And my sun, I love very much to see you smile." Agatha stared at him for a long moment but then finally a small, watery smile appeared on her face. "Ah, there it is," he said with his own smile. "I'd give my entire fortune a hundred times over for that sight."

"No need to do that," Agatha assured him, leaning into his hand. "I like smiling at you."

"I'm so very glad to hear that. But you look tired. Do you need to feed?"

"That depends. Did you feed on the lawyer?"

"I never feed on him when I'm planning to feed you. I know how much you hate it."

"In that case, I'm ravenous."

Dracula used his nail to slit his wrist and get the blood flowing. "Drink your fill."

Agatha took his wrist and drank deeply. Sometimes Dracula would pet her hair while she did this, but he seemed to understand that she didn't want that this time. When she was done, she pulled away and wiped the excess from her mouth. Dracula closed his wrist as he looked down on her. "Better," she smiled.

"Very good. Now what should we do to pass the time?"

"I'd like to go to my workshop," Agatha declared. "Will you read to me while I work?"

"Nothing would make me happier," Dracula smiled. "Let's get you settled in your workshop so you can look further into those werewolves you were studying, and I'll read anything you want from the library."

"Even one of those terrible romances you tease me about?" she asked with the hint of a giggle as he began to push her towards her room.

"I did say anything you want. You should know by now, Agatha, that I always keep my promises."

"Then I want you to promise me that once my legs are working properly again, you'll dance with me here in our home."

"Until both of our legs are too sore to move, my sun."


End file.
